If I Become My Demons
by Sealixir
Summary: It's been years since they've left the underground, and everything seems to be going smoothly. However, Frisk begins to have visions of the six fallen humans, and with that, things that were buried are being dug up. Six stories that threaten her happy ending, unless Frisk can decipher why they're calling out. Fem Frisk and possible shipping. T for elbow room.
1. Kylie

"Thanks momma." The little girl smiled as her mother tied off the black French braid with a deep red ribbon. Today they were going hiking on Mount Ebott, collecting leaves for a collage. "Momma momma! Imma be a warrior! If we see any monsters, I'll protect you!"

"Well, warrior Kylie, we're bundling up today! We have to equip armor, for defense!" Her mother played with the creative seven year old daughter, slipping a light blue and peach striped sweater over her. Kylie popped her hands through the sleeves and brandished her toy knife, holding it close to her stomach. "Kylie, you better not bring that!" Her mother exclaimed, frowning at the present Kylie's father gave her for her birthday.

"Aw, but I need it to protect us!" Kylie complained and her mother raised an eyebrow. Kylie's mom handed the little girl a bag and smiled.

"You can find a wand when we get up there, the sticks are perfect in magical qualities." Her mother responded and Kylie bounced around, agreeing happily. Still, she slipped the toy knife into her bag. She knew her daddy had given her the toy because of the other little girl that had disappeared a while ago.

A little bell rang, and Kylie fell still and silent as her mom gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry dear, I'll be just a moment." Her mother rubbed her head before answering the phone and speaking urgently into it. Kylie knew that her mother disliked her messing around while she was busy.

Instead of entertaining herself with mischief, she stood still and imagined protecting her mother from a hideous beast. Although, she supposed the best case scenario would be for neither of them to get into danger at all. Sighing softly, Kylie studied the walls of their latest apartment, and fiddled with the ribbon in her hair.

 _3 hours pass_

"Momma...?" Kylie called softly, having gotten too excited at a shadow in the trees. She had run towards it, and lost her mother somewhere behind her. She had taken another phone call, but the connection is bad and she'd gotten frustrated. Kylie didn't want to interrupt her, so she decided to find her way back herself. She'd never know Kylie was gone!

The only thing she could see was a dark and deep hold in the ground, and the sun that started to touch the tree line.

Suddenly, branches rustled and Kylie jumped. "Is anyone there?" No one responded, but instead, a dangerous growl sounded all around her. Slowly, she waited until the growl dimmed and then pulled out her toy knife. She held it close to her, and her bag slipped and fell off her shoulder.

It tumbled away from the chasm, and Kylie tried to reach for it as it slipped down the steep hill and towards the growling noise. "I'm sorry." She whispered as the growl intensified at her movements. She carefully took a step back, deciding to try moving away from it, but her foot didn't hit solid ground.

She slipped backwards, closing her eyes and gripping the toy knife tightly as she fell.

And fell.

And fell.

Somewhere in the drop, she'd lost consciousness. When she did open her eyes, the sweet smell of flowers overwhelmed her. "Huh?" she mumbled, pushing herself up weakly. Her arms were scratched and her legs sore, but beneath her was a bed of flowers that must've caught her fall.

"M-momma!" She called out, the cavern in front of her dark and cold. "Momma!" She called again, hoping for someone, even if not her mom, to respond. When nothing came back, she waited and studied the darkness around her. Eventually, someone would find her.

"Look." A strange voice said, and after several hours of waiting, Kylie perked and lifted her head from a droopy position. "Isn't that a human?" No sunlight shown into the cave, so when something grabbed her wrist Kylie had no idea what it was. She felt around, afraid of the harsh grip, and found her toy knife.

"I-I am a warrior!" She stammered and hit the hand with the hilt of her knife. "I fight monsters!" She pulled her hand away and quickly moved away, finding the wall of the cave and keeping close to it. One hand on the wall, and holding the knife out as a warning.

"Humans have taken everything from us." Another voice said regretfully, as if it was in pain. Kylie tilted her head, and stopped moving along the wall to see if she could strike up a conversation.

"What are you?" She asked and the voices seemed to whisper to each other.

"I am a Vegetoid." One of the two monsters tried to reach past her knife and grab her. "Our king needs your soul." It said and she kept moving, seeing a lit up space ahead. She moved into it and turned back to look as the two creatures stepped into the light.

One was a strange thing with a circular body and two antenna. The other was simply a carrot, that seemed to push itself through the ground. It's eyes were turned up, and smile on it's face seemed forced, like her mother after a bad work day.

"You can't be a veggie!" Kylie said and giggled slightly. "Veggies can't talk!" She took her chance when the two turned to each and considered the thought. She moved past a mound of dirt with a few splotches of green grass, and headed into a purple building. There was a wide open door, and some pressed buttons on the ground. She thought it was odd, until she saw worn tracks and carrot leaves close to the buttons.

"Momma!?" She called out again, peeking through around the corners of the ruins. Behind her, the two strange ones were following her. She didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation, so she tuned out and instead moved around the purple ruins. "Is anyone out there!?" Aside from the two creatures behind her.

It took a while, but she eventually made it through a lot of the rooms. Most of the puzzles had been solved, or weren't completed yet. She turned back to look at the creatures behind her. Vegetoid had grown a pair of carrot legs and was walking. Kylie turned back around and missed a step, her foot slipping through the ground and taking the rest of her with.

She screamed and hit the ground a floor below her, the heart in her chest threatening mutiny. "I-I am a warrior!" Kylie told herself and felt her legs throbbing. She couldn't continue like this...she'll just have to wait for them to feel better again. It didn't take that long, and soon enough she was able to walk again.

She saw a switch on the wall and pressed it, hearing something move above her. She found a tunnel that went up, and saw other rooms that the tunnels connect to. Kylie felt a breeze almost push her over, and held onto the walls while her weak legs kept her standing.

She never noticed, after making her way up again, that the wind had blown off her red ribbon. "A human passed through...it looked young!" The creature with a circular body said, and Kylie peeked out to see the two creatures talking to a great many other creatures. Some appeared like frogs, others could fly.

All look angry.

"A human!"

"Kill it!"

"Take it's soul!"

"Deliver it to Asgore!"

The shouted and exclaimed, causing Kylie to shiver in fear. Monsters. Kylie's mom told her that monsters had been locked away a very long time ago, and that they could never come back. Kylie tightened her grip on her knife and waited at the edge of the tunnel. They all dispersed, and Kylie felt a bit of pity inside her.

The monsters before had said that humans had taken everything from them. Kylie supposed that she too, would be upset, if everything were to be taken from her. Perhaps when she found her momma again, she could ask her to help the monsters. She waited until she couldn't see any, and moved out of the tunnels.

She advanced slowly and carefully, coming into a room with lots of pillars. She saw monsters patrolling, as if waiting for her to come. She felt special and terrified at the same time. She made it through the room after several perspective shifts by waiting for the monsters to pass and moving to the next pillar.

Along the way she heard conversation, and though she tried to tune out she didn't want to let her guard down incase they saw her. She didn't understand much of what they talked about, but she caught hints of a girl named Chara being 'lost', along with a prince. Kylie wondered why the monsters seemed to blame the humans for it all.

After the room with the pillars, she heard loud voices speaking somewhere in the large room. "No! Asgore I don't want you to come here!" A woman's voice yelled and a door slammed shut. Kylie flinched, recognizing 'Asgore' as the name of the king that wanted her soul. She glanced around a corner to see all the monsters that were supposed to be patrolling were watching the scene.

Kylie took the chance and moved past, slipping into the next room, and then the next after that. She went up a few stairs and saw a growing city. Her mouth dropped, and she studied the sight in front of her with awe. "Young one." A voice behind her said and she turned around slowly.

Lots of monsters had grouped up behind her, and she shivered slightly. "Please don't hurt me." She murmured and saw a monster, much much larger than all the others, step into the room. It had a complicated expression, the one her mom wore when she had to cancel plans.

"Your kind doesn't deserve mercy." A Vegetoid said and she whimpered as the big goat monster moved closer.

"I'm sorry for this, but we all need your soul." He said and she held out the knife, both hands on it and her elbows locked. She bent her head down, hoping that if she waited long enough they would be intimidated and move.

"I am a warrior!" She exclaimed fiercely, but gentle hands knocked the toy knife away. "Momma?" She pleaded and opened her eyes to see a light blue heart floating in front of her. Something hot hit her, but she hardly felt anything as her eyes closed and her body hit the ground.

* * *

"Woah." Frisk lifts her head up and looks around, her mind scrambling to remember what she was doing. Did she fall asleep while doing homework again? A pencil rolls of the table, and Frisk bends down to pick it up, raising her head again to find herself in her classroom. Nope, legit fell asleep in class.

"Miss Rune, have you come to a revelation about the quadratic theory?" Her teacher addresses her, and she shakes her head, keeping her mouth locked tight. Rune is the last name Toriel decided they would take, while Az and Agore kept Dreemurr. Mr. Smite sniffs and continues teaching, while Frisk pulls out a piece of paper and starts jotting down what she remembers. She can feel Asriel giving her an imploring look, she just hopes Mr. Smite thinks she's taking notes.

What was that? It happened so fast, and Frisk remembers it so vividly. Once she's got every detail written down, she focuses on catching up on her actual notes, more so mechanically writing them down while thinking about what she just saw. Nothing like this had happened since they gave Azzy enough souls to come back.

Politically that had been actually a major controversy, but over the years it's calmed down. Frisk is fourteen now, and she thought all the adventure had been put behind her. Soon, the bell rings and she gathers her things and smiles at the impatient fluff-bucket waiting for her.

"What was that?" He asks as they walk out of room, and out of the school. "It wasn't 'her' was it?" Chara had dropped by a few times, but after Frisk had taken back control during the fight with Sans, she'd never tried to reset and murder everyone again.

Frisk shakes her head, lightly nudging him with her elbow. "Didn't feel like her, it was almost... like a dream." She says and tries to keep a smile on her face. She knows it was in the ruins, and the toy knife and the ribbon seem familiar. She was looking through someone else's eyes, like when Chara had taken her over. It seemed like a fallen human. "Don't worry about it, I was up all night working on that science project. Probably just need a nap."

Asriel gives her a strange look and she holds up her coin purse, eager to get his mind off it. Ever since they'd saved him, she understood more than ever how Sans felt about Pap. If Az is happy, then so is she. "Wanna get some nice cream? Mom says dinner will be a bit later tonight." She tilts her head and he gives her a worried look.

"Fine, but I'll pay." He says stubbornly and Frisk laughs, holding his arm and changing the topic to when milk came out of her nose at lunch. Surely, it was just a dream. All of that is behind her now, it's behind all of them.

Right?


	2. Patience

Frisk sits down at the table, snagging a chart and a pen. Tonight is family game night, or family puzzle night as Pap likes to call it. Frisk, Sans, Undyne, Pap, Asgore, and Alphys start a game of Clue, while Azzy helps Toriel with dinner.

Frisk decided, after cooling down from the nice cream, that she would ask Asgore if he remembers Kylie before he left. If he doesn't, Frisk will assume she really does just need more sleep, and she subconsciously made the story up. It's strange, though, because she can't seem to get the images out of her head. The way her heart pounded when she feel down through the ruins.

Frisk remembers it scared her at first too, but not the way it scared Kylie. "Frisk! It's your go." Undyne says loudly and hands her the dice. She takes her move and keeps mulling it over, wondering why the vision popped up when it did. Why now, after so long?

"AU CONTRAIRE, I BELIEVE THAT IF ANYONE IS THE MURDERER, IT WOULD BE THAT PEACOCK WOMAN." Pap rebuttals in a debate and Frisk lingers on the word 'murderer' for a moment.

"Nah bro, it's Scarlet. She's practically been caught red handed." Sans responds and Frisk's lips turn up in a small smile.

"Actually, by what I've gathered so far, the murderer, that is the one that killed someone in a specific room, with a specific object, is more likely to not be either of those you've pointed out." Alphys sans and Undyne throws her arm around the scientist.

"Shhhh! Alphie you're not supposed to give things away!" Undyne says and Asgore chuckles whiles Sans takes notes on his chart of what Alphys said. Frisk stares at her chart, her head slightly lowered.

"O-Oh, my bad. I thought the game was simply to find the murderer. After all, i-if there was a murder, than the others would want to find the murderer at all cause. C-cause then, there wouldn't be anymore p-potential for murder." Alphys says and Frisk glances nervously at Asgore, who gives her a 'what can you do' smile.

"PERHAPS WE SHOULD PLAY THAT WAY INSTEAD, TO APPREHEND THE MURDERER AT ALL COST." Pap exclaims and Frisk starts to feel queasy. She normally loves this game, but every time someone says 'murderer' it feels like a physical slap. What's wrong with her?

She can still feel Kylie, believing that she'll see her mother again soon. The desire to be in her arms, but realizing that it might not be for a very long time. Do people get an afterlife, if their souls are still present here? "C'mon Pap, look at all the defense they have. No one else is getting murdered with everyone standin' around." Sans says and Frisk puts her cards face up on the table.

"I'm sorry...I'm going to sit this one out." Frisk says softly, and they all grow quiet. She stands up, her head tilted down. No, she can't make them worry this way. In the next moment her heads up and she pats her stomach. "I'm starving, I'll see if I can help mom with dinner!" She says and laughs, pushing in her chair and skipping around the table, into the kitchen.

"Boo, Frisk! Gave in to the pressure. You just wanna be around Asriel more." Undyne teases and Frisk sticks her tongue out as they continue with the game, gobbling up her cards. She catches Asgore's eye, and he gives her a worried look.

'Murderer' Someone's voice sounds her head and Frisk turns around quickly. Azzy glances over at her questioningly and she smiles and stands next to Toriel.

"So, what's the grub?" She asks and Toriel pokes her affectionately in a shooing manner.

"Wait and see." Toriel says, causing Frisk to don a playfully pouting face. "If you must know it's several home cooked Pizzas." Frisk smiles and reaches around Azzy, snagging a piece of pepperoni from the bag and popping it into her mouth.

"Yum." She murmurs and reaches around her mom, hugging her and sighing contently. Toriel is a bit confused, but she hugs her back anyway. Frisk just wants to stay there, and something compels her after all this time to 'save.' She knows it's been so long since she has, and is satisfied at her success. "Can I help?"

Toriel gives her a strange look, but smiles and hands Frisk an apron. "You can help with the pie, since the Pizza is already in the oven." Mom says and Frisk ties the apron around her. "Butterscotch and cinnamon."

Azzy moves next to her as she presses the crust into the pan. "Are you okay?" He asks, and Frisk nods.

"Of course, why is there something on my face?" Frisk asks, quickly trying to joke. Was he able to see through her that easily? He smiles and thumbs a spot on her face, his fur tickling her nose.

"Got it, it's nice cream." He teases and Frisk rolls her eyes.

"Har har." Soon, the pizzas are out and the pie in. Everyone sits down to eat after the table had been cleared of board games. Frisk enjoys the pizza, although she notices that Pap and the rest seem to be trying hard to be nice to her. More so than usual at least.

Once dinner was over, she stood up and promptly helped clean up. "Punk, ready for another game?" Undyne asks, rubbing Frisk's head with her fist briefly as she moves into the kitchen with a stack of plates.

"Sorry, I'm going to do the dishes." Frisk responds before putting her hand seriously on Undyne's arm. "I'm counting on you to bring us victory, great warrior." Undyne's eyes shine she accepts the challenge, and both girls put their hands together and bow. Frisk picks the plates back up and starts cleaning them in the sink.

"What, kid? You getting board with these games?" Sans calls and Frisk laughs appreciatively. Frisk hums a bit, listening to the others play a card game together, when suddenly Asgore picks up a towel and starts drying what she's washed.

She jumps, and he wiggles his fingers a bit, making noises. "Boo!...Got something on your mind, pal?" He asks and Frisk smiles and shakes her head, continuing to wash with her hands moving almost mechanically as her mind whirrs.

He was a lot taller in Kylie's view. "Actually...Gramps, did you ever encounter a little girl in the underground? W-with a red ribbon and a toy knife?" Frisk proposes the idea like suggesting to play a game of catch, but Asgore almost drops his plate. Afraid of what expression he'll be wearing, Frisk decides not to look over.

"W-why do you ask?" He stumbles, the only times she'd seen him like this was when he tried to talk to Toriel, and when she confronted him at the barrier in the underground.

"Just curious..." Frisk mumbles and he sighs.

"I never knew her name...she was the first...she was one I killed. All she had for protection was a toy knife, and out of my anger I took her life." His tone is dark and remorseful. Frisk feels scared, maybe it's Kylie reaching out to her, but whatever it is ties her stomach in knots.

Frisk doesn't say anything, donning her regular straight face instead of saying anything. "I think the pie should be cooled by now." Toriel says, walking into the kitchen. Frisk decides to wait until the pie plates are ready to be washed and helps Toriel hand out the pie.

Frisk's family goes through the usual antics, everyone is determined to be happy and live life with smiles all the time. After feeling what Kylie felt, however, Frisk's heart doesn't seem to be up to the challenge. Sure she smiles throughout the dinner, just when it's over she can't help but feel a bit relieved.

She and Asgore don't talk any more about Kylie until everything is cleaned up and everyone is leaving. It can't really be called leaving, since they all lived in the same neighborhood...next door to each other. Asgore as the only exception, he lives at the Monsters' Hall. It's kind of like the castle, a place to govern and such. Frisk goes there often, as she's the ambassador.

Although, she's never really done much as the ambassador. Part of her thinks that it was just Asgore's idea of keeping her around, but she never wanted to leave them in the first place. "Gramps." Frisk says softly, stopping him before he goes. She can tell everyone else is interested in the atmosphere change they both had earlier, but Frisk stretches up so she can whisper something in his ear.

"Her name was Kylie." She says, wondering if it'll make a difference to him, knowing her name. He nods to her, and surprises her by giving a big hug before leaving. Frisk waves goodbye to everyone else, and tilts her head when Azzy stays. "Sleeping here tonight?" Frisk asks after everyone's left and Toriel has gone upstairs.

Azzy normally stays with Asgore, but he'll often come and stay here with Frisk and Mom. "Yup, I figured you wouldn't want to be alone, after what you saw earlier today" He responds and Frisk widens her eyes before smiling. She gives him a quick hug and a friendly peck on the cheek.

"You're the best Azzy! We can finish the science projects together." Frisk exclaims and Azzy rubs the back of his head while grinning. "You take a bath first, I'll set the projects up." She says and he nods, heading upstairs. About halfway through setting up all the papers and research notes they've taken, her phone rings.

She scrambles the answer the call, after seeing that it's Sans. "Hello?" She asks and leans against the living room wall.

"Sup, kid. You doing okay?" Sans asks and Frisk breathes a sigh out. "You seemed out of it earlier...is it Chara?"

"No...at least I don't think so. I'm fine really, I just snoozed about this girl in class, it threw me off a bit. I'm fine now, though. Really." Frisk insists, yet she can tell that Sans is skeptical. Just then, Azzy walks down the stairs, drying his fur with a small towel. "Oh hey, gotta go. We'll talk tomorrow okay?"

Frisk hangs up, perhaps a bit too hastily, and passes Azzy quickly. Soon, she's relaxing in a nice hot bath, trying her best to deal with Kylie's last memories. The rest of the night passes uneventfully. She and Azzy work on the projects until Toriel orders them both to bed.

The next morning, Frisk prepares her and Azzy a slice of pie for breakfast, preparing to walk with Mom to school. Unlike the day before, Frisk doesn't get any visions in her math class. Instead, almost all of the day's notes are covered in sketches of what Frisk thinks Kylie looked like.

"Yeah you're not obsessing over this at alllll." Azzy comments over her shoulder. She hadn't heard the bell ringing to let school out, and instead had been absentmindedly doodling.

"Azzy..." She jumps and proceeds to quickly pack her things up. "Sorry to keep you waiting." She says as they hurry out of the classroom. Azzy looks like he wants to ask her something, but he's stopped before he can.

"Frisk, catch!" Someone calls to her as a crumpled up piece of paper soars straight for her and Azzy. Instinctively, she grabs Azzy's arm and pulls them both down and out of the way. The paper lands in the hallway behind them, and Omber gives her an exasperated look.

Omber is one of the more popular girls, her bunny ears are dyed different colors, and she always has a style that matches her fur. "Frisk...you were supposed to catch it, not dodge it." She complains and Frisk laughs nervously.

"Force of habit, sorry." She says, meanwhile Azzy picks up the crumpled paper and hands it to her. "Thanks, Az. Sorry for yanking you down." He shrugs it off and Frisk un-crumples the piece of paper. It's an invitation for her. Omber throws Azzy one next.

"Holiday party at my place, next Saturday?" Omber suggests and Frisk nods happily.

"We'll ask about it, thanks Omber." Azzy says as he folds his and Omber gives him a big smile. She waves goodbye in a bit excessive manner, and Frisk and Azzy wave back as they leave the school. "That's nice of her." He comments, and Frisk is about to respond when she spots a flash of blue across the school yard.

"Sans!" She calls his name and waves with her whole arm, and he flashes a small two finger salute. Azzy sighs a bit, he had never been able to handle much of Sans at one time. Frisk thinks it's the puns. "What are you doing here?" She asks when she and Azzy reach him.

"Alphys and Undyne want to hang out by the Garbage Dump. Figured I'd pick you kids up and we could take a shortcut." Sans winks, and Azzy discreetly rolls his eyes.

"You go, Frisk. Dad wants me to help out at M. Hall today." He explains and Frisk frowns a bit.

"It's a long walk, your sure you don't want me to come with?" She asks and he shakes his head.

"It's not that far, I'll see you later. You should stay at Dad's tonight." He smiles and wraps Frisk in a one armed hug for a moment before letting her go. Azzy leaves quickly, and Frisk waves goodbye before turning to Sans. Hugs from Az always make her feel better, but now her crutch is gone.

If Sans wants to ask any tough questions, Frisk doesn't have anyone to divert the attention to. She always has the hardest time hiding things from Sans. She could hardly keep it together with last years Christmas present. "Just you and me, kiddo." He says with a grin, and Frisk smiles despite her worries.


	3. Obstruction

Frisk knows that Sans will teleport them in a few seconds, but she puts intense care into not stepping on the lines of each sidewalk square. Every other step is half skip as she avoids the separation, playing in her head like it's a puzzle. When Sans doesn't teleport them, she looks over at the skeleton.

"Kid, I thought we might take a walk and chat about what's been happening." Sans says, and Frisk sighs. 'Here we go.' She thinks to herself, but glances to Sans every few seconds so he knows she's listening. "Heh, figured you'd be quiet. I guess I'll have to interrogate our prime suspect." He says jokingly and tickles her a bit by poking her with one hand.

Frisk giggles, but sobers after a few seconds. She continues her game with the sidewalk while Sans watches her persistent and ever constant smile. She wonders if he knows it's fake, or at the very least forced. "So who's Kylie?" He asks, straight off the bat and Frisk stumbles a bit.

She continues going, but just giving a simple shrug and a small flicker in her smile. "Frisk, you're not too big to let me worry about this too." He says and she hunches her shoulders a bit as she plans how to tell him, and the weight of her knowledge dawns on her.

"Kylie...was the second human to fall down." She murmurs, and even though she knew Sans must've strained to hear her small voice, he nods. Suddenly, all she wants to do is release everything she's been holding in, and Sans is the best listener she knows. In the next few minutes she jumps into the entire spiel, while Sans puts on the look he gets when he taking notes on something.

After she finishes, Frisk takes a deep breath and waits to see what Sans will say. His expression doesn't dictate much change, but then again as a skeleton it never does. Sometimes, in moments like the past few days when Frisk kept a smile taped on, she starts to relate to having 'smile' as default expression. While benfiting those around you, it's a terrible thing to be force.

"Kid...do you think we have any danger of Chara coming back?" Sans asks, and Frisk lowers her head, not wanting to push that problem on him. He's had enough of Chara for a lifetime. Still, there's no use lying since he already knows anyway.

"It'd be a new tactic, and though it didn't exactly feel the same. It was most likely her." Frisk answers and Sans nods. For a second, guilt is the one emotion that wins through the storm of all the others in Frisk's head. She narrows her eyes with a frown, knowing that it'd be better if Sans didn't have to worry about her being vunerable to Chara.

"Hey squirt, it's okay. So you saw through Kylie's eyes, and she was hurt by Asgore. I can imagine that might make you a little scared." Sans suggests, and Frisk almost jumps when he takes her hand with his gloved skeletal one. Ever since they reached the surface, he wears gloves in public.

"I won't lie, it made me nervous to see him like that. But, that was a very long time ago. I'm not a kid anymore, and I'm not scared of him. I'm afraid of what he used to be." Frisk responds truthfully and Sans nods. Suddenly the environment changes, and Frisk's next steps find her at the garbage dump.

'Garbage dump' is just a name for the warehouses full of abandoned things, in the old human neighborhood. Frisk had never looked deep into whether it was legal or not, but Alphys also says that no one else claims it. The government was never keen on having to deal with all this, so they agreed that if the monsters returned anything with specific names on it, they could have at the rest.

"Listen Frisk, just don't give Gramps too hard of a time on it. You'd never intentionally hurt a snow poff, but he's real sensitive." Sans says, yet something about what he implied doesn't sit well in Frisk. She mentally draws the idea of Asgore having to face what he's done, but the idea is batted away quickly. "Ya know, since we're here I'll give it some thought, and later we can chat more about it."

Frisk puffs her cheeks for a second, and if not for the look in his eyes she would've insisted they keep talking. Instead, she decides that the topic is more stress inducing than he should have to deal with. Regret washes over her. Why didn't she keep her big mouth shut? Frisk has obviously ruined Sans' day, and all so she could feel a little better.

"Ah." Frisk is startled when her phone rings, and she answers the call before checking the ID. "Hello?"

" _Fr-K! We're f-er in! Hide - go - seek!_ " Undyne's voice pulls through with breakups in the connection, and Frisk's momentary panic is washed away when she understands she means a game of hide and go seek. " _Come f- us!_ " Undyne hangs up and Frisk smiles at Sans.

"They wanna play hide and go seek!" She says slips her phone back in her pocket. "This could be difficult." Frisk's understatement hits her hard, wishing that Undyne had given her some clue aside from 'farther in.' "She said she's farther in."

"Alright then, why don't you find them and bring 'em back?" Sans suggests, and when Frisk turns to look at him, he is already lounging in a makeshift chair.

"We never go in alone." She protests slightly, but the mischievous look in Sans' eye tells her he's not moving for a good thirty minutes. "Fine, but if I never see you again, it's on you!" Frisk calls back as a joke, and tries to bury the disappointment in her sides when he doesn't respond.

Her determination wavers, but she refuses to turn back and worry him more by giving up on a game. She never gives up on challenges like these, they're her favorite. Today, however, she doesn't feel too enthusiastic. After walking around, calling for Undyne and Alphys, annoyance starts to fester in her stomach at her friends hiding from her. Proceeding that is resentment at herself for feeling that way.

"What the-" Frisk is caught off guard by a wet spot on the ground. She realizes that it's not the only spot that's wet, just the wettest of the wet. They have gotten so much rain lately, and a big storm is supposed to come later as well. Still, as Frisk is looking around for Undyne and Alphys she spots a door that's swung wide open.

"Found you!" She's walked by this particular section before so many times, she knows immediately when something's off. They've never been able to open that door before, nothing they tried could pry it open. Sans convinced everyone that fate was trying to keep it sealed shut.

It's on the side of one of the many warehouses, and it looks just like the other storage rooms. Even when frisk peeks her head in, she can tell the structure of it is the same. Nothing mystical or fate-like about it. "Are you two in here?!" Frisk calls out, and hears a muffled curse from the file cabinet.

At least the game is over now. Frisk walks over and, ignoring the familiar looking feel to the storage room, she pulls the large cabinet door open. Out jumps a particularly happy Undyne, and Frisk is enveloped in a hug that quickly morphs into a noogie. "Look at you kid! I'd have sworn I shut the door! Hey isn't this place lame compared to what we thought it'd be?" Undyne laughs and releases Frisk before pulling her out of the room.

Frisk can't understand, but her head starts to throb with a nauseous pulse. "Undyne..." Frisk moans, yet the warrior woman just calls out Alphys' name into the Dump. "I feel bad." Frisk has to tug on Undyne's shirt to get her attention.

"Take a breather, pipsqueak." Undyne concedes. "I'll find Alphys and then you can hide, I'll search!" Undyne exclaims and runs off. Frisk, deciding to get out of the sun, plops herself down in the newly opened storage room. She looks around, and as she recognizes some of the objects in the room, her headache fades away.

She stands up, and picks up a photo of a woman in a wedding dress. The groom is smiling next to her, with one hand on the woman's stomach. Where has Frisk seen this before? She feels like she's studied it before. She set the picture down, and instead looks over a mini grandfather clock.

She doesn't know why, but the chime sounds in her head as if she hears it every day. After tampering a bit with the arms of the clock, it rings in with an aged croak. It's the same as Kylie imagined it to be. Her Deja vu increases when she recognizes a very, very old jacket folded up in an empty, but opened box.

"Creepy." Frisk can't put a specific place to any of the objects in the room, but instead walks to the cabinet. It appears as if, when Undyne stepped in, a stack of papers had been disturbed. Hesitantly, Frisk picks up the cleanest piece from the enormous pile, and struggles to read it in the dim light of the storage room.

When she does make it out, she catches her breath in her throat and rereads it five times to be sure. ' **Missing: Kylie Robish** ' It reads, and Frisk whimpers as she realizes why she recognizes everything in the storage room. ' **Last seen 10/XX/201X. If found, please call...** ' Frisk almost pulls her phone out to call the number, but logic stops her. It's been so long that it's definitely not the same anymore.

After a going through a few more boxes in the room, she finds stacks upon stacks of the flyers. Whoever Kylie's mother was, she might have eventually given up hope and left everything that reminded her of Kylie here. Her next thoughts lead her to a stage of denial, trying to persuade herself that whoever made these flyers were a different person. They found her, a different Kylie. It's a weak idea, even in her head.

She walks out of the room and thinks of showing this to Sans. He would comfort her, and just the thought of a hug from him makes her feel better. Still, didn't she already decide not to bother him? And if Undyne and Alphys come back to see her hanging over this, they'd know something is up and tell him anyway.

Every fiber in her doesn't want to hide it, not really. She wants to find Kylie's mom and explain to her what happened. After all this time, surely she wants to know what happened to her daughter. Yet, would everyone else be okay with that happening? Asgore...doesn't want to face those demons, so how could he face Kylie's mom?

Frisk can't help but think that if she somehow disappeared for a day, Sans could get a break. She realizes running away would worry him and everyone else, yet she also knows he wouldn't have to worry if she wasn't here to begin with. Frisk blinks and looks up, making her decision as the clouds start to cover the sun.

She pulls out her phone to text Undyne. 'I'm walking home. Tell Sans for me, please." After several minutes of writing and rewriting the message, she finally hits send. Most people in this town are monsters, therefore everyone's friendly people. Walking everywhere isn't dangerous at all, in fact very few monsters use their cars at all.

Determined to give the others a break from her presence, she heads out for the town library. It's not very long a walk, and once she's there she pulls out Kylie's missing poster and starts typing in information, hoping to find something on Kylie's mom. "Please...Please.." She murmurs and after several text notifications and no luck, she pulls away from the screen and checks her phone.

If she's not careful she'll end up on the missing child's list. A terrible idea forms in her head, and she almost considers doing it before pushing it away. There's no way she could purposefully go missing, just to talk to the people who search for missing kids. After answering the texts from Undyne shortly, she scampers out of the library.

Frisk looks out into the semi city around her. Even though there are no skyscrapers, there are a lot of tall buildings. A new idea forms in Frisk's head and she likes it much better. In one of the alleyways, Bratty and Catty still hang out and sell things. On the surface, Burgerpants, or Bp, decided to work with them instead of for Mettaton.

He is probably the only person she can ask about things that go on around here, without him spilling it to whoever asks. Frisk traverses easily through the streets, and eventually finds the right alleyway. Or so she thought. It starts to drizzle when she comes to the end of the alleyway to find no Catty, no Bratty, and no Bp.

Frisk bites her lip as the rain starts to get harder, but doesn't give up. Instead she goes through each alleyway she passes, determined to find at least the stand where the three work at. When the rain gets too hard for her to ignore, she decides to hold off until it lets up.

At the end of her eleventh alleyway, she turns around to leave when some crates and other large containers fall from one of the buildings' roof. She jumps back to dodge it, but it effectively traps her in the alleyway with super heavy, pouring rain. Frisk pulls out her phone, but she has no connection from the thundering war in the sky.

She stares at the obstruction in front of her and bites her lip as she plans how to get around or over it. 'Fine, but if I never see you again, it's on you!' Her words ring in her head over and over again, making her feel as insignificant as an ant.

And as lost as Kylie Robish.


	4. Ethan

No big deal, just climb over. Frisk attempts to heave herself onto the many crates and containers, but her foot slips and she falls back on her butt. Never the one to give up, Frisk tries again. And again.

And again. Eventually she gets high enough to push herself on the other side, but this time when she slips she falls back, tumbling towards the hard cement off the alleyway. She doesn't have enough time to react, just enough to realize she'll hit her head pretty hard. She tries to grab something, but she's suddenly turned upright and cradled in the air. Around her is a tint of blue, and she lets out a sigh of relief that's quickly followed by a squeak of terror.

"What the hell were you thinking, kid!?" For a moment Sans is on the other side of the barricade, yet in a blink he's in front of Frisk. She's lowered gently to the ground and is about to apologize when he hugs her fiercely. "I was so worried." He stated and Frisk felt her cheeks heat up a bit with shame. He rests the forehead of his skull on hers and she squeezes her eyes shut.

"I'm sorry." She murmurs and Sans let go of her. Frisk wrings her small hands together and looks down at the ground, not at Sans. "It was dumb, I should've told you I was leaving the dump." She says, hoping he'll avoid the topic of why she left. She doesn't want him to have to worry about it anymore, even though she obviously screwed up again by making him worry over where she'd gone.

"Undyne said you weren't feeling well, why'd you come here?" He asks and she feels her cheeks heat up even more. "Frisk, listen I'm not angry-I'm confused. Alright, I'm telling a little _fib_ ula. Only cause the amount of time you were gone and didn't talk to anyone _tick_ ed me off a bit." He attempts at the puns and Frisk smiles in a weak response. "Kid?"

"I-I uhm..." Frisk stutters a bit. "I didn't want to stress you out by bringing up Kylie again, but I found her mom's storage room. There were missing flyers for Kylie inside and I thought I could try and research her mom. I didn't find anything so I wanted to ask Bp for advice since I was sure anyone else would be concerned as to why I was looking." She says, her face very hot now and the guilt wrecking her stomach.

Sans sighs and looks at her intently. "How long have you been out in this rain?" He asks, and Frisk is surprised that out of everything she told him, that's what he's asking.

"Uhm.." Frisk tries to recall but her mind feels tired. Her everything feels tired, and she wavers a bit on her feet. Sans' left eye glows bright blue and he takes her hand, teleporting the two of them away. Frisk closes her eyes during the shortcut, and when she opens them she's leaning against Sans in front of her house.

"Hey kid, come on you'll be fine just walk." Sans says and Frisk is confused. Of course she's fine, why wouldn't she be? Still she feels sluggish and weak, and once she and Sans are past the front door he puts her on the couch. "Tori!" He calls. Toriel rushes into the room.

"Oh my child!" Tori exclaims while Frisk feels her face burning, and she tries to stand up. Thunder clashes outside and adds more drama to the scene than Frisk would've cared for.

"Mom, I'm getting the couch wet." She protests weakly, when both Sans and Toriel ease her back down. Her clothes are dripping from the rain, along her hair and everything else on her. Tori puts her hand to Frisk's forehead and narrows her eyes in a concerned squint.

"This is a very high fever. Sans tell me..." Tori's voice fades out, and Frisk feels her eyes closing. A fever? She hears one last exclamation from Tori before she falls forward, wondering if Undyne was out in the storm looking for her.

* * *

 _"Ethan, you know how much touble you're gonna get in if you go up there without mom's permission?" A girl asked, pulling off her jacket and giving her little brother a shrewd look. Ethan hated the way she looked at him, because no matter what he does she finds some reason to dislike him for it. He continued the sketch he was drawing._

 _"I don't care what mom thinks." He says, rubbing his wrist that was sore from sketching for so long. "There has to be an amazing view at the top." Ethan insisted, and his older sister just laughed. She thought his passion for drawing was wimpy as a guy, but he didn't put much into what she thinks._

 _"You see, this is why you still have no friends in sixth grade." She taunted, and he shrugged, but the tip of the his pencil snapped as he pressed down too hard out of frustration. "Anyway, if you're so set on going..." She pulls out some things from her bag. A flashlight, a bag of trail mix, and stupid looking bandana._

 _He picks up the plain bandana and scrunches his nose. "Emily, what's this?" He asks and she smirks before sitting down next to him. She hates his guts, so what is she doing now? Acting like she cares about whether he has a flashlight or not. Their village lies right under Mt. Ebott, and today was the day Ethan decided to climb it to sketch the great view from the top._

 _"Twerp. Just because I hate you doesn't mean I don't care about you." She says stiffly but with a grin. "Don't even think about running away, and not coming back." After the small threat, she does something she's never done to Ethan before. She ruffles his hair and leaves the room. Ethan stares after her, before looking down at the things she got him._

 _He sighs, knowing that now if he didn't go she would never stop teasing him about being a wimp. Still, as he prepares to go he feels a bit better. Whether it's because she was nicer to him than usual, or because he was finally gonna do something he wanted to, he didn't know. He takes the bandana and ties it around his left arm, ready to brave Mt. Ebott._

* * *

 _"Another human." The voices whispered as Ethan walked through the strange purple ruins. He rubbed his arm that he hurt when he fell. Fallen. He'd fallen down into this strange dream. That what it was, surely, just a dream. Still...dreams don't usually hurt this much._

 _"Another train of events to be initiated." The creatures hid themselves in the dark, and Ethan tried his hardest to block there murmurings out. A dream, yet reality. He clutched the flashlight still and trod on through the rooms that were falling apart, figuring out the traps haphazardly as he went. He wasn't afraid._

 _He couldn't be afraid. He didn't even know what was going on. "No! You don't understand me!" A small, childlike voice made Ethan jump and search widely around him for the source. He saw a light further on ahead, just after a room that had changed perspectives many times. "You're just like him!" The voice cried on._

 _At last Ethan spotted it, shining the light on a small flower...with a face. The strange entity was snarling at something in a room to the left, yet Ethan couldn't move as he stared at it in awe. The flower winced at the light, before turning and growling at Ethan ferociously._

 _"You!" The flower snarled and then thought for a moment, thinking through its anger. "You're a human! Did you fall down, too?" It asked and Ethan felt his hands shaking._

 _"Uh- uhuh!" He confirmed and gripped the flashlight hard to stop the shaking. The flower snarled and moved toward him, twisting its roots through the ground._

 _"Then you're just as screwed as her!" It cackled before disappearing into the ground, and Ethan fell to his knees, scared._

 _A few moments passed silently. The monsters that had been following Ethan seemed to have disappeared. He push himself to his feet once more, only to be frighten again by a large, furry monster turning the corner._

 _"Oh! Oh my!" The monster exclaimed. Ethan swallowed with difficulty, sliding his foot back over the dirt. "No no! Sweet child don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." A large paw was raised to soothe him, but he scrunched his nose and found his courage. Ethan started running and dived around the goat monster. His feet kept carrying him until he turned left and ran smack into a tree._

 _"Oww!" He exclaimed and stumbled backwards, slipping on the dirt. His back hit something solid and warm, and surprisingly gentle hands rested on his shoulders. Ethan's hands flew to his nose as blood started gushing from it, yet the hands that held him guided him forward._

 _Ethan felt his heartbeat escalate as they rounded the tree and approached a house. He was scared. He didn't want to admit it, but it was true. His sister would never quit laughing. "I have towels in here, you can clean up with them." The voice said above him. Reluctantly, he allowed the hands on his shoulder to lead him into the strange looking house, seemingly out of place. It didn't quite look cozy, with windows that needed to be fixed up and rusty hinges on the doors._

 _"Who are you? Do you want to hurt me?" He asked and the big monster smiled and shook her head, surprising the boy. He let her sit him down in a chair and start patching up his scrapes and cuts._

 _"How do I get back? I need to get home!" He insisted suddenly after all the bandages were placed, and the same delicate hands returned the first aid material to a little red tin. Ethan was tense and his shoulders felt sore and hard, well, everything felt sore._

 _For the little cabin he was in, it appeared as if someone had moved to it only recently, and not yet having fixed it, or it was a very very old house. The tile floor was in need of a change, with loose pieces and flaking wood. Aside from the weird ness of the house, Ethan still thought it was a few measures cleaner than his own._

 _"I'm afraid, little one, that is something I cannot help you with. No humans have ever entered the underground and left." She, Ethan determined the creature was very motherly, spoke softly and placed a hand on his head. "The only exit I know of to have worked is a very long ways away."_

 _Ethan suddenly remembered his sisters scolding tone, but instead of worrying he stood up and felt a flare in his chest. She would've already escaped this place! He was too slow, and surely she would harass him about it if he wasn't able to leave. At least he now has an adventure that she would never imagine! Monsters were something they'd both long forgotten, but now Ethan's imagination was spewing with the possibilities._

 _Strangely, all he really wanted to do was start sketching. Maybe somewhere, he'll be able to capture the view from the top of the mountain down on paper, the one he was dazzled by before he lost his footing, and fell backwards into this hole. "I have to try...otherwise my sister will think I'm wimpy." He said, puffing out his chest._

 _"Are you ready to face the monsters of this place?" The big monster asked, and Ethan gulped before moving his weight to his toes in an attempt to seem taller. "Because, young child, they will try to kill you." Even though her dark tone was meant to scare the child into staying away from the danger, Ethan instead dug around in his large, cargo pockets, finding only a forgotten bag of trail mix._

 _"Do you have a sharpie anywhere?" At the monster's baffled look, he made the shape of a marker with his fingers. "A marker? Something with ink to draw with." He explained further.  
_

 _She pinched her lips and turned to dig around in a drawer. While her back was turned, Ethan took in the size of her frame. She didn't scare him anymore. In fact, he smiled broadly at her when she triumphantly turned with a marker. Ethan hastily untied the bandanna around his arm, and began a classic doodle. When he'd finished, he retied the bandana so the doodle of abs faced outward._

 _"Now I look stronger!" Ethan announced, and the monster tilted her head, letting out an amused chuckle. "Ah, lady you never told me who you are! My name is Ethan!" He said, opening the trail mix to shove a handful in his mouth before retuning the bag back to his pocket._

 _"My name is Toriel." She answered and she pulled something from behind her back, supposedly something she'd found in the drawer. "And if you're going to face this place, you might want something to defend yourself with. But, before you leave I insist you get some rest and a reasonable meal. You'll want to be at your best."_

* * *

 _Ethan had slept, eaten, and was now trying to wiggle his hands into the boxing gloves. He and Toriel stood at the exit to the underground, and she wrung her hands slightly as she thought over his latest question._

 _"Yes...I know those who are trying to kill you." She spoke, and Ethan finally got both hands in the gloves. "But...he was very emotional when he decided to fight humanity. Honestly, I am hoping that you'll be able to change his mind, since you're the first child that's come since it's happened. Surely, you won't be cruel enough to cause you harm, and I can forgive him." Toriel was breathing funny, and Ethan figured that the adult things she was going through caused her stress._

 _Ethan nodded, somewhat understanding what she was saying. Truthfully he was more excited to get out of the ruins. "Now, if you don't cause a scene then no one will notice that you're a human. You understand that you must go straight to the castle on the other side of the underground." Toriel went over what he was supposed to do again, and he nodded, bumping his boxing gloves together._

 _"Well...go on then." Toriel said with a slight difficulty, and Ethan wrapped his arms around her briefly._

 _"Thanks. I hope you become a family with your husband again...unless he kills me. I'll haunt him if he kills me." Ethan stated blatantly in an attempt to cheer her up, but it only made her look more uncomfortable. "Oh by the way, I left something for you on the floor of that room I slept in. Wish me luck!" He said before running out the open door._

 _The cold hit him almost refreshingly, and he left footprints in the fallen snow excitedly. He thought for a moment that he must be outside, but then he looked up and raised an eyebrow. The stars looked strange._

* * *

Frisk wakes up in her bed, the same twin that she'd been sleeping in since they built the house. The first thing she notices id the goosebumps covering her arms, and the feeling of static all over her scalp, slowly moving down her body to her toes. A fever... that's what Toriel said. The next thing she notices is the small, floating, orange heart. It hovers over her, bobbing up and down in the air, brushing her covers every few moments.

"E-Ethan!" She whispers, the name unfamiliar to her, but at the same time right. The heart freezes, and Frisk can't help but feel that as she stares at it, imagining the boy from her vision, something is staring back. The glowing heart shakes, and for a moment Frisk thinks of nothing but fear. Her heart starts beating quickly, as if she'd just run a lap around the block. Sweat trickles down her brow, and she nearly exclaims when her vision starts swimming.

She struggles to stay awake, wriggling in the bed and trying to somehow fight back against the emotion that's clawing its way up her throat. Even her determination isn't enough, and as her movements slow, her vision fades to black.

* * *

 _He was running, running. His heart seemingly convulsing, probably doing more bad than good. The thing chasing after him was big and scary, and Ethan couldn't bring himself to think about what would happen if it caught him. Still, he should've come up with a plan or something. He knew he wasn't fast enough, smart enough, or lucky enough to escape it._

 _Thinking straight was beyond him when he was just trying to run straight, but he had to quickly distinguish what in the snowy forest was plain wood and what was it. His flash light illuminated the path ahead of him, and at any flash of he green he changed course, running blindly._

 _He was strong right? He was supposed to be strong and brave and needed to come home. Was anyone missing him at home?_

 _Ethan's momentum finally caught up with him as his foot snagged on a root, maybe random or maybe it. He fell forward and rolled, straight out of the woods and into a small clearing, the light of the strange stars relieving his eyes for a second before he face planted. The demented cackling sounded behind him, and he let out a cry the dirt he'd fallen in. The shadows were moving. The shadows were monsters. He wrenched off the glove on his right hand, twisted his body in the dirt, and threw it toward the woods, where a large plant was creeping._

 _It yelped, and Ethan threw his other glove. Then he scrambled to his feet and looked at his options. He had three ways to go, one back in the direction he came, one behind him and one to the right. His lungs heaved for breath as indecision took its toll. The flower- plant- demon inched toward him from the woods and its vines dug into the earth surrounding Ethan, trapping him._

 _He shook, but somehow, as the flower got closer to him, he found something useful inside him. Ethan's eyes hardened, and he notched his chin up. "You weren't nearly as entertaining as I thought you'd be." The flower commented dully, and Ethan felt anger flame in him. He was only a game...well so what._

 _"If you're going to kill me...then do it." Ethan gasped out, and the flower grinned slowly._

 _"Are you scared little boy?"_

 _Ethan nodded, and the flower edged even closer, so it was inches from Ethan's face. A small, orange heart appeared in front of him, not beating, just glowing and floating. The flower touched a leaf to it, and Ethan flinched. He was strong, and he was brave._

 _But he wasn't. He was terrified._

 _The leaf, although appearing thin and delicate, squeezed around the small, orange heart. Ethan cried out, pain scorching his body as if he was surrounded by fire and not snow. He was brave. What would his sister do?_

 _He lashed his hand out, his right fist connecting with the soft, inner part of the flower. It yelped again, but this time Ethan kept going. He grabbed a petal and yanked back, and the flower screeched in pain. The roots around him went limp for a second, and it let go of the orange heart. Ethan didn't understand what was happening with the heart, it was almost like magic, but he did have the sense enough to rip another petal, then run._

 _He leaped over the vines and took off to the right, where less plant matter was. Ethan closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself just run. Then, he opened his eyes and had to skid to a stop. In front of him was a river, cutting him off. He scrambled to change directions, run through the woods again, but the flower had recovered._

 _"Enough!" It screamed, and surged toward Ethan. It hit him with enough force to send him careening into the water, finding it cold and icy. Ethan sank for a moment, the current not particularly strong. He tried to swim, but he couldn't break the surface in time. The shock of the cold forced him to take a breath, and by then it was too late._

 _He hadn't been brave enough._

* * *

"Ethan!" Frisk screams sitting up in the bed with a violent speed. "Ethan no." She pulls herself forward enough to shift to her knees, curling her arms around herself. A door opens, her door, and Toriel quickly rushes to her side. "Ethan ethan ethan..."


	5. Bravery

She rolls over in the bed, hot and stuffy and uncomfortable. A doctor had come by and given her a shot to help the fever go down. She fingers the bandage on her left arm, staring at the door to the left-ish of her bed. Frisk can hear whispers outside of it, cringing in response to their nervous tones. She tries to distract herself by inspecting her room.

It's hard to tell in the dark, but over the time since they've been above ground, they've put more and more stuff in here. Originally they only had a dresser to the right of the bed, a window, and a lamp. Frisk never complained, the whole house was like that. Actually, Frisk probably learned a bit of her self proclaimed selflessness from Toriel during the time just after the underground. The two of them never told anyone, they managed to play it off very well, but they were quiet poor during that time. As a former queen, Toriel used almost all of the money she received on her people. Frisk hadn't the slightest problem with it, she and Toriel were perfectly happy.

Of course, Frisk does appreciate deeply what she has now. Just in her room is a another dresser, but with the a mirror on it, on the far side of the room. Toriel told Frisk that the one with the mirror is actually called a dresser, while the taller one was more like a wardrobe closet. Several posters from Frisk's favorite bands, books, and shows hang around her wall, including Metaton's talk show. To Metatron's disspointment, both Frisk and Asriel share the same favorite TV show, a drama about criminals turned detectives for the government. Aside from the posters, the wall is covered with minor academic awards, mediocre drawings, funny and memorable pictures, and a few calendars. She often uses her dresser as a desk too, and a neat little swivel chair sits by it, but currently it's too flooded with general mess to be very effective.

Outside, the whispering stops, ending with a furious "No!," from Sans, just loud enough for Frisk to hear. She pulls the covers over her head momentarily, whimpering slightly. Sans probably doesn't know it, that Frisk has been a little frightened of him ever since...the Chara incident, but Frisk wouldn't doubt it if he's noticed her slight squirmyness. More than Sans, Frisk is scared of herself.

Deep down, part of her wonders, did she really choose to hurt those she loves? Should she even be there? What if one day...one day she does it again? If somehow she reasons that it'll be okay? Frisk starts shaking, hiding under the thick blanket. She'd rather die right now, than ever, ever let herself do that again.

"Calm down." She whispers to herself. "You're okay. You're not going to do anything." She relaxes, laying against the pillow again and pulling the blanket down. The light that had been peeking under her door shuts off, and Frisk allows herself to close her eyes and attempt to sleep again. Her breathing slows, and this time she dreams sweet silence.

* * *

Toriel wrings her hands- paws?- in the corner of Frisk's eyes, as Frisk quickly scribbles a sketch of what she saw the night before. Her fever was long gone, and she felt much better after sleeping through most of the morning. Sans came over after an oatmeal lunch shared by Frisk and Toriel, and Frisk had immediately leapt into an explanation of her dream. She didn't even bother to conceal it from Toriel this time, after all, it'd been her that took thirty minutes to calm Frisk down after she saw Ethan...

"It was like this." She says, finishing the drawing and looking up at Sans, who is sitting across the kitchen table from her. He studies her for a moment, and Frisk resists the urge to squirm under his pupil-ed eyes. After a few moments, he takes the drawing and studies it. Frisk had drawn the way the heart hovered above her. She launches into a description of how it had...affected her. "Then I just...fainted I guess."

Sans takes a deep breath, and Frisk takes the staring down at her lap. "Did you...see anything else?" Sans asks and Frisk nods slowly. "Do you want to talk about it?" Frisk shakes her head this time, but stops in the middle of it. Her eyes glint with a hard determination.

"It's not very nice. He...drowned. In the-" Frisk stiffens, a realization suddenly coming over her. She whips around and looks at Toriel, devastated that she was so carelessly describing it. "Oh mom...I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have to hear this. I didn't- I wasn't thinking-" Frisk starts to ramble a bit, but is cut off by Toriel embracing her. Frisk slides out of the chair and into her arms.

"Do not worry, my child. I have had many years to steel myself for what might have been done to those children. My only concern now is that you've had to experience this as well." Toriel tells her steadily, and Frisk sighs, safe in her arms.

They release, and Toriel takes a seat next to Frisk, holding her hand. Sans has one elbow on the table, resting his head on his hand, watching with a small smile on his face- skull? er..- He sits up again when Frisk and Toriel compose themselves. "I think this is enough talk about this for now..." He states, as if it's final. "We thought it might cause a commotion if everyone knew you were sick, kiddo, so we kept it on the down-low. I'm gonna tell 'em, but are you ready for the onslaught of phone calls?" Sans asks, an amused twinkle in his eyes.

Frisk tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, nodding. "Azzy's gonna kill me." She mutters to herself.

"You're in a hairy situation there." Sans comments, slipping the drawing into his pocket discreetly. Frisk giggles slightly at his pun, enjoying the much needed, friendliness with Sans.

"I'll be Azzy-king his fur-giveness all day tomorrow." She jokes, and Sans chuckles.

"It's pretty.." Toriel speaks up, smiling warmly, "F-risky of you." The three of them burst out laughing, the tension dripping away.

The memory of Ethan knaws at her slightly, "Sans." She says, suddenly serious. "I want to find Kylie and Ethan's families. I want to let them know what happened...and hopefully bring peace- well as much peace as possible- to the situation. It's the right move...I'm sure of it." Sans and Toriel look uncomfortable, but Frisk knows that she has to press the matter now. "I love you! I love all of you so much! You're my family and I know...if anything happened to anyone...no matter what I'd want to know. They must be thinking the same thing."

Frisk's hands ball into fist, and her eyes close. "I want...to do the right thing. Maybe...that's why these visions have been coming to me. So we can bring them peace." She opens her eyes, realizing how forceful she sounds. When she'd first entered the underground, she barely spoke, only when she needed to. Since then, Frisk has opened up much more, maybe sometimes a little too much.

Then she sees Toriel and Sans' eyes. They look...sad but...prideful. "Geeze, Tori, I can't tell if we're raising this kid or if she's raising us sometimes." Sans jokes, and Toriel puts a hand on Frisk's shoulder.

"We will look into this. I am so proud of you my dear."

* * *

Asriel peeks in through the door again, checking to see if Frisk was done yet. Her hair falls down to shoulders now, and she was trying to decide whether to put it up or let it hang loose. In the end, she tied it into a ponytail with a bright red ribbon. She thumbs the ribbon for a moment, allowing herself to think of Kylie, wishing her soul well, for what it's worth.

"I'm done Az, thanks for being patient." Frisk says, trotting out of her room and meeting him the hallways. She put on a dark green sweater, with a red stripe, with dark jeans and a nice pair of boots. Omber's Holiday party is tonight, and Frisk and Asriel were almost going to be late. "I heard the whole school was going to be there.." She tutters nervously from foot to foot.

He laughs, shaking his head. "Our school, and apparently a few from the more human populated ones out of town. How Omber got them to come, I don't have a clue." He comments while tugging on his bow tie. He has on dressy pants and a plaid, bright green and red shirt. Both of them look pretty ridiculous, but Frisk doesn't mind a bit.

They tell Toriel goodbye, and that they'll be back before ten, and then head out. It's a bit of a walk, but they pass the time quickly by chatting. Once they arrive, they take in the perimeter excitedly. Omber apparently got permission from the school to host it in the school yard. It kinda became less Omber's party, and more a community effort, but she was still credited with the idea. Streamers and balloons flood their school's sign, and a trail of green and red lights create a path to the yard.

"It's kinda like the celebration after breaking the barrier." Asriel comments as they walk closer to the sea of monsters, speckled with humans. "Except...ya know just teens...and there are some humans too." Frisk nods, a bit in awe at the amount of kids.

There are tables full of food and activities, and a solid mix of holiday music poured from several sets of speakers. "Maybe we should've helped out a bit more. We didn't even help set up.." Frisk muses and Asriel shrugs.

"We didn't know it would become this hectic. Hey it's Omber!" Asriel reaches his arm up and waves to the bunny-monster as he and Frisk step into the crowd. Omber hands someone something, and starts making her way over to Asriel. Frisk smirks, elbowing him lightly. He glances at her, and she gives him a knowing smile. "H-hey Frisk come on!" He complains, looking embarrassed.

Frisk giggles, knowing that he's had a crush on Omber for a while. She'd been so caught up in the...situation before that she hadn't even thought about it when Omber invited them. "Talk to her, I'm going to find something to drink." Frisk says, patting him on the back and weaving through the crowd. Monsters stop to look at her as she moves, and she wonders if they recognize her, or think she's from a different school.

Either way, she smiles and they look away, and nothing is wrong. She spends the night floating through the crowd, saying hi to friends and meeting some new ones. Several times she goes back to get punch or a soda (sorry Undyne) or water.

Then, just as she's going back to food table to grab a pretzel or two, feeling kinda lonely as she always does in large crowds, someone taps her shoulder. Frisk turns around, but no ones there. She searches through the crowd around her, smirking and predicting that Asriel is trying to tease her. Then, her smile drops when she doesn't see anyone.

She pinches her lips together, preparing to turn around again when a hand closes around hers. Frisk snaps her head to her hand, but there's no other hand. She feels pressure, a pull forward, and then nothing. She takes a step, but then hesitates. This is strange, right? This doesn't...normally happen?

"Hey there." A voice makes her jump, pulling her hands back close to her and sucking in a breath. A short boy steps in front of her, at least a half a foot shorter than her. "I'd say you look pale as a ghost...but I think I'd offend someone here." He quips out casually.

He has a deep bronze skin tone, and a head of disheveled brown curls. "I look like a ghost?" Frisk asks, suddenly concerned that she actually might be turning see-through, her imagination and the strange phantom touches getting to her.

"No!" The boy exclaims as Frisk began to look down at herself. "That's not what I meant! You just looked spooked, is all." The boy explains, and Frisk sighs with relief.

"Oh, sorry then." She says and looks around, should she follow where the pull was trying to lead her? What if it was Kylie? Or Ethan?

The boy inspects her with a raised eyebrow, and Frisk is peering over him, at the edges of the crowd. "Looking for someone?" He asks, and Frisk jumps, having forgotten he was there.

"Uh...yeah. Sorry." Frisk sighs, figuring that even if it was one of them, she shouldn't go off on her own to investigate. Even though...she really really wants to. "Did you uhm...need something?" Frisk asks.

The boy laughs, tilting his head back a bit and then looking at her humored, scratching the back of his neck. "Geeze, I just thought you looked kind of...alone. Especially with so many people around." He admits and Frisk widens her eyes. Normally, Frisk is the one to talk to others. "My name is Sage." He claims, shifting on his feet.

"I'm Frisk."

Sage grins. "Do you want to grab a pretzel or two? I'm starved." He asks, and Frisk smiles slowly. She nods, and they walk off to the dwindling food display. "Oh, has anyone told you yet? Monster food is kinda different..." Sage starts and Frisk chuckles.

"Yup, I know."


End file.
